Like a Bass
by Where's Waldorf
Summary: When Chuck and Blair's youngest child needs some help, they call upon Henry and Vivian. One-shot set way into the future of the "These Kids" universe. A preview to a future story, in celebration of the Limoversary. Prompt: "Family."


**A/N: **Hello everyone. I know I haven't been around in a while but real life has taken over big time. On top of college work and the film I'm producing, I also am planning a party. Eek! Anyway, because I miss you guys and I miss writing for you, I thought I'd write something connected to one of my fics. This is set pretty far off in the future for These Kids, and will belong to one of the stories that I will eventually be telling in that fic. I decided to give you guys the name of Chuck and Blair's third baby in the These Kids universe as part of this sneak peek (although, I had to bleep out the name of his sweetheart with these ********. Sorry, its a surprise!)

This is also in honor of the Limoversary! I'm going from the prompt "family." Make sure you share anything related to it (like this fic, hehe) and hashtag Limoversary this week! It's time to honor Chair for being so wonderfully epic from day 1! That is why this one shot is filled with Chair!

Enjoy!

* * *

Growing up, whenever Henry and Vivian's parents asked them for help with something, unlike most children, they got excited.

Chuck and Blair Bass always had something unexpected planned; a plot here, an investigation-into-a-person's-sudden-departure-fro m-society there.

Their parents were aware of their children's remarkable gifts.

Vivian could find out anything about anyone.

Henry was intuitive, always knowing the right move.

Vivian came up with the most creative schemes.

Henry was good at punishment.

Chuck and Blair saw no use in letting that go to waste.

And it wasn't like they were ever given _chores. _

The Basses could never do something that pedestrian.

So you could imagine Vivian and Henry's shock when they were led to their younger brother Donahue's bedroom and were told that they needed to speak to him.

They were more than a little outraged.

"Brotherly advice was not in the contract," Henry hissed to his parents as they stood by the door.

"For once, I agree with him," Vivian said as though it pained her greatly to do so.

"This is more than just giving him advice. It's too late for that," Blair whispered exaggeratedly, as though something sinister had occurred.

"Then what is it?" Henry whispered back. His eyes widened, immediately catching on with the drama.

Vivian held back a chuckle at their antics. She glanced at her father, who seemed to be doing the same thing as her. He caught her eye and smirked at her bemusedly before opening his mouth to speak.

"It's a minor intervention children; nothing you can't handle. Now, if you may," he stated, opening the door for them to enter.

Henry and Vivian glanced at each other, before sighing and straightening up. He marched in, while she skulked in slowly after him. They looked back to see their parents making a getaway.

"Where do you think you're going?" Henry called out.

"We've done our part. He's your problem now," Blair explained with an airy wave as Chuck pulled her away and into the corridor, most likely to their bedroom.

Henry looked betrayed, as though he'd never believe it of his parents.

"Cowards," Vivian muttered, rolling her eyes before training them to the bed.

What she saw had her gripping Henry's arm, and she _never_ touched him. Not even to hug him on his wedding day.

When Henry looked at the bed, he had an urge to run to his parents like he did after he had a bad dream as child, because the sight before them was surely a nightmare.

Their little brother was lying in bed, looking like he hadn't left it in a whole year. He had shadows under his eyes, and his usually beautiful looking curls were greasier than Severus Snape's, the guy from the old book series his high school had used for literature class.

And he was pale. But not the porcelain pale complexion that they had all inherited from their mother. It was the sickly pale visage of a person who didn't get out often.

Donny had always been messier looking than his older siblings, but it had been purposeful. He had perfected the so-called "effortless" look and worked hard to maintain it.

The look he was sporting now however was _genuinely_ effortless.

And it was not pretty.

It was so beneath Bass standard that Donny would be lucky if the laid-back Humphreys would take him in at this point.

In fact, perhaps he belonged at the Humphreys, considering the fact he had a laptop in his lap that he was staring at in complete absorption.

Realizing that Henry had been rendered immobile and speechless in shock for a moment, Vivian did the only thing she could think of, strolling over to the bed and slapping Donahue across the face.

But he barely reacted, shrugging her off as he continued to stare at the screen. Vivian glanced down to see Audrey Hepburn running through the rain and crying out about some cat. She scoffed.

Not_ this_ again.

Her mother already watched it enough as it was. Now it seemed her little brother was into it as well.

Suddenly the laptop was shut and pulled away. The both of them looked up to see that Henry had done it, apparently recovered from his attack of shock.

"_Hey,_ I was watching that," Donahue complained in a hoarse voice, as though he hadn't spoken in days.

"Are you _whining,_ brother? This is worse than I thought," Henry said, staring at him in disbelief.

"What the hell has happened to you?" Vivian asked.

Donahue blinked his doe-eyes up at them in confusion.

"What are you talking about?"

"Have you _seen_ yourself? Vivian, the blinds please," Henry ordered.

She glared at him, but did as he requested, having also thought that it was necessary.

As sunlight shone through the room, Donahue cried out, pulling the comforter over his head. Henry ripped it off completely however.

"Oh God, Vivian. You're not going to like this," Henry said weakly as he studied Donny.

Vivian glanced down at him.

He was in flannel.

It was her turn to want to make a break for her parents' room.

She _abhorred_ flannel. She _feared_ flannel. There had been a crisis point in her marriage when she had found a flannel button-up in her husband's wardrobe. Benton had grumbled about how his father had given it to him to wear whenever he felt lost. She had given him a lethal look and quietly told him that either the shirt went or she did.

"How could you?" Vivian whispered to Donny, covering her mouth and walking away from the bed.

She needed a moment.

Henry, on the other hand picked up one of the several boxes of Godiva that had been hidden under the comforter. He turned to study his brother curiously.

"So Donny, what tragedy has befallen upon your life?" Henry asked.

"What makes you think there's a tragedy?" Donahue asked defiantly.

"Other than the obvious?" Henry asked, giving him a once-over as Vivian walked over to rejoin them.

Donahue responded with a nonchalant shrug and tugged his flannel shirt, causing Vivian to yelp uncharacteristically and turn around to walk back in the direction she came from.

"I went through the Godiva phase, although I do prefer the gold collection. There's definitely some traumatic incident you're wallowing over," Henry said with a little shrug, coming to sit down on the bed.

"You wouldn't understand," Donahue muttered, crossing his arms over his chest moodily.

"Try me," Henry said.

Donahue stared at him for a moment.

"It's just..." he started hesitantly.

Henry waited with an expectant look.

Then it was like dam burst, and all of Donny's anger and confusion came spilling out.

"I worked so hard for my reputation. I put countless hours of studying my superiors and planning exactly what I was going to do and how it was going to play out. I was _King._ No one could possibly mess that up for me. Then _she_...she practically demanded that I risk destroying all that I've built for her."

Henry opened his mouth to say something, but Donahue waved him off, nodding towards the laptop as he continued his rant.

"She needs me to be like the guys in those movies, -who _are _kind of epic, -but still not worth sacrificing all my hard work and my image for."

Donahue paused for a moment, and sighed wearily.

"But...I did it. I did it anyway, because I thought she was worth risking my pride and having everything. I told her I loved her, which felt like most frighteningly natural thing to do. And you know what she said? _You shouldn't_."

For a while Henry just stared, and Vivian, having listened to the whole thing, turned around to study her brother. She had a thousand and one questions for him, but the main thing she felt now was _relief_.

Because her little brother didn't seem numb to it all, not like she had been once upon a time. His rant made him seem hurt and angry, but that only showed that there was some fight left in him.

"Who is this girl?" Henry asked, completely taken aback.

"She's...********. Go ahead and judge me. I'm a sappy idiot, I know. I'm aware of how far I've fallen," Donahue mumbled, staring down at the sheets.

It was quiet again for a long minute, and Donahue felt like crawling back under the covers.

"Not bad," Vivian said suddenly.

Donahue looked up, blinking at her.

"What?" He said.

"I'm impressed. ******** is a real catch. She and her father are my favorites," Vivian said.

"Yeah, and it'd be nice if there was an excuse to keep her around more. I feel like she's never in the city as long as she wants to be," Henry added, seeming to agree.

Donahue laughed in shock.

"Did either of you hear what I just said? Do you understand what she did to me?"

"Oh hush, _now_ you're sounding like a sap. No, worse than that, you sound like a _victim_. Anyone can see that she loves you too, and ******** doesn't strike me as the demanding type," Henry said.

"Yeah, did she ever actually ask you to give up your reputation for her?" Vivian asked, studying him contemplatively.

Donahue thought about it for a moment and realized with a shock that she hadn't. She had just loved him without asking for anything back. That was one of the reasons he'd always loved her.

"Aha! Seems you've made an idiot of yourself for no reason," Vivian said with a little smirk.

"Well now that's not entirely true Viv. I mean, he did say it felt natural to tell her. He must really love her," Henry said perceptively.

"And you don't think I'm pathetic for it?" Donahue said, having trouble connecting the bullying older siblings he'd always known to the ones before him.

"Oh Donny, we're always going to find you pathetic. You're our baby brother. But we get the whole putting your heart out there thing. Even moguls have hearts," Henry said with a grin.

"And _no one_ does a grand romantic gesture like a Bass," Vivian drawled.

Donahue blinked at them, still a bit bewildered by the fact they were telling him things like that.

"So...what do you suggest I do?"

"First of all, _bathe. _When was the last time you showered?" Vivian said, wrinkling her nose.

"Seriously, my appetite is gone, and Cat asked me to pick up _pie_ on the way home," Henry complained, upset that he wouldn't be able to enjoy any as well.

"Another pregnancy craving? It's cute how she shares your regular ones," Vivian said, patting him on the head patronizingly.

Henry pinched her in retaliation, and they launched into a little pinching war for a minute.

"Okay, next item on the agenda is talking to her and facing it head on," Henry said when they settled.

"Yeah, you have to muster up the right words," Vivian agreed.

"In this case, stay as close to the truth as possible and don't leave any room for misinterpretation," Henry pressed.

"Even if it's embarrassing," Vivian added.

"I told her I _loved_ her for crying out loud, what else is there?" Donahue said exasperatedly.

"Well, clearly you didn't make her feel very safe, did you?" Henry said, turning his nose up self-righteously.

"To be fair, no one in our family has ever come across as the safe option," Vivian said, smirking a little.

"So what do I do?" Donahue asked.

Vivian and Henry glanced at each other for a moment, and then looked back at Donahue.

"You've got to grow up, Donny," Henry said, hitting him with the brutal truth.

Donny narrowed his eyes in confusion.

"What do you mean? I already made the sacrifice of my reputation. I'm ready to be in a relationship with her," he snapped.

"Are you?" Vivian asked quietly.

He stared at her for a minute as he considered it.

"Well, what constitutes as 'ready?'" Donahue asked.

"You can't just say you're ready. You have to prove it with actions," Vivian explained.

"Isn't it about time you found direction? Or actually aimed for a _future _instead of maintaining your precious reputation?" Henry pointed out.

Donahue didn't say anything.

"And can you actually hold on to one woman?" Henry continued, staring at his brother as he tried to figure it out for himself.

They didn't get it. The problem was never about wanting anyone else. It was about _wanting _to want someone else. This girl...she _haunted_ his thoughts, feelings and entire being. His heart had never stopped beating for her all these years. Donny had just used his mind to block it out; to deny it.

"I've only ever wanted to be with ********. I've tried to kill it and to fight it, but I can't and I don't want to anymore," Donahue confessed.

"Then don't give up. Find out why she thinks you shouldn't love her. You _know_ it's never exactly how it seems with ********," Henry replied.

"Just be there for her. Whatever she's going through, just be there," Vivian added softly.

"You don't give up on the people you love," another voice said.

They turned around to see their parents at the door. Their father (who had spoken) nodded at them slightly. Blair glanced at Chuck with a little gleam in her eye before looking back at their children.

"I see your work here is done," she said, noting the change in Donahue's demeanor. He already looked to be in calculation mode, his eyes moving from side to side in thought.

"Nothing we can't handle," Henry said evenly.

Vivian nodded, schooling her usual bored look upon her face.

"Glad to hear it. Are you two staying for dinner?" Blair asked, not masking her hopefulness.

Chuck smiled at Blair and wrapped an arm around her in comfort. He knew how much she missed having them at home. Pretty soon their youngest would be out of there too, and though he was sad about it, Chuck was looking forward to whatever would come next. He knew it would never be boring with her, no matter how much time went by.

"Perhaps..." Vivian started to say slowly, considering it.

"We'll give you our own lessons about love!" Blair exclaimed, lighting up.

"...not," Vivian finished, getting up and heading to the door.

"Right behind you," Henry said quickly, following her as Donny flopped back against the pillows in annoyance.

"Oh come on, don't you want to know the genesis of our lives?" Blair said with a pout.

"Nope," the three chorused.

"Blair," Chuck tried to say gently, but she interrupted him.

"Well, I'm going to tell it anyway," she said stubbornly, marching into the room and sitting on the bed.

Chuck sighed, shaking his head and smirked at her before joining her.

"Enjoy, little brother," Henry called out, before he and Vivian left all together.

"He most certainly will," Blair said, patting his leg.

Donahue groaned and used his pillow to block his ears. It really sucked being the youngest and still living at home. Maybe it _was_ about time he grew up. It sure beat having to listen to the sickening details of his parents love story. He wondered if he could sneak off to take a much-needed shower unnoticed.

As he made a move to do so, his mother dug her nails into his leg warningly.

Donahue winced; He wasn't going anywhere.

Blair locked eyes with Chuck and smiled as she opened her mouth to speak.

"Well, it all started with a limo."

* * *

Go easy on me because this was written at the dead of night amidst all my stress and also needs serious editing and alteration. Enjoy the limoversary!


End file.
